Monopolizer: Big Ideas in Antitrust

The former DOJ antitrust chief talks to Rebecca about the impact of the “consumer welfare standard” on antitrust law—and taxpayers’ pocketbooks! He reflects on his efforts to build out the DOJ’s litigation capacity and move the law beyond unrealistic, big-business-friendly models that don’t fit the facts. He discusses how to keep the AI race competitive, drawing on lessons learned from Biden-era antitrust, and whether you have to be cutthroat to be competitive.

Rebecca interviews former FTC Deputy John Newman about “Lawless Antitrust.” He shares his views on his time at the FTC under Biden, reflecting on wins and losses, the goals of the new Merger Guidelines, and his view of what the antimonopoly movement is looking for: bringing respect for precedent and legal reasoning back to antitrust. It’s the hipsters, believe it or not, who want law and order!

Professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth sits down with Professor Eleanor Fox to discuss how antitrust’s goals changed dramatically in the 1970s, and what that revolution can tell us about today’s antitrust reform movement.

Monopolizer is a podcast about the ideas that shape antitrust law and policy today. Antitrust expert and Vanderbilt Law professor Rebecca Haw Allensworth tackles the biggest questions in antitrust law, with help from some of the nation’s foremost thought-leaders in competition policy. Together, Rebecca and her guests demystify the issues and dive deep into the past, present, and future of antitrust.

Whether you’re a student, a lawyer, an expert, or simply wondering what all the fuss is about, Monopolizer will help you understand why competition matters and what the law is (or isn’t) doing to keep the playing field level.